how to prevent oil spills in your pantry
We use Whole Foods‘ 365 olive oil for everyday cooking. It’s tasty, affordable and healthy. My only issue? The oil spills down the side of the bottle with each pour. We try to clean it after every use, but with our busy schedules and an infant, we sometimes forget. This results in a ring of oil on our pantry shelf, which I’ve heard can attract certain types of ants—gross!
I’ve searched for a bottle-pourer to replace the one it comes with, but I haven’t been able to find one that fits. (I know, I’ve spent way too much time thinking about this.) I was looking at a back issue of Cooks Illustrated recently and came across a simple solution for this exact issue: you fold a paper towel or cloth around the top half of the bottle and secure it with a rubberband. Now we don’t have to worry about getting oil everywhere—and I know I’m not the only one who obsesses about things like this. — Michelle V.K.
I always put my oils inside plastic zip-lock bags, so if anything spills out, it ends up at the bottom of the bag, and not on the shelf. i do like your idea though :-)
I’ve been keeping my oil on a coaster. But I’m going to try this, too.
I use a cork coaster too.
Yee-Uck!! Perhaps I’m slightly OCD about handwashing, but the sheer fact that it spills upon pouring would cause me to cease and desist IMMEDIATELY and run to Trader Joe’s and grab a bottle of their EVOO which, from what I can tell, does not spill. I cannot stand having icky, gooey, greasy, oily fingers whilst cooking.
My trick is to pour it like wine- a twist of the wrist at the end of the pour usually stops those last few drops from oozing down the side of the bottle.
Does anal-retentive have a hyphen? ;)
We use a bar pour top from Sur La Table. It fits any bottle with a neck. Just remove the plastic insert from the bottle replace with the pour top and no drips.
Such a great idea! I’m doing this tonight :)
It’s pretty easy to find a nice oil bottle, or a drizzle top that fits any bottle in a kitchen supply shop. Ours was about $10, but I bought a bottle that came with a drizzle top. Drizzle tops tend to run about $5.
You can’t fit them on a lot of oil bottles as sold in grocery stores tho… they have their own reducer fitting that doesn’t work correctly for cooking, and I haven’t figured out how to remove it yet.
I found an alternative to the oily bottle — a retro-looking stainless steel oil can at Ikea. It keeps the counter oil-free and pours so evenly. Find it here: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60100445.
thank you, michelle! thank you!!!
What makes you think the ants won’t climb the bottle to the wrapped part to feast on the oil?
Brie: Good to know about Trader Joe’s olive oil. I can’t stand having oily, sticky fingers while cooking, either. Ly: I haven’t figured out yet how to remove the plastic insert from the bottle. Tara: What a great find! Sleek and affordable. I think I just might grab one next time I’m at Ikea. And Saffron: Good question. I don’t know the answer. But it hasn’t happened yet.
Eureka!!
You can use a corkscrew and pull it out. Or insert a wooden chopstick to pry it up.
Just found this online:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/02/verte-the-two-lipped-non-dripping-bottle.html
More expensive than a rubberband, but look how stylish!
Nice! Thanks for sharing.
Such an easy idea, why didn’t I think of this? Thanks so much for sharing! -e